The number of new homes being consented continued to increase in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, while construction costs looked relatively stable.
According to Statistics NZ, 9373 new dwellings were consented in Q1, up 14.6% compared to Q1 last year, and 21.5% higher than Q1 2024.
However, that's still down 24% from the first quarter peak of 12,333 new homes consented in Q1 2022.
While the number of new homes in the pipeline is on the rise, the cost of building them remains elevated, but appears to be relatively stable.
According to interest.co.nz's latest quarterly analysis of the building consent figures, the average estimated construction cost (excluding land) of the dwellings consented in Q1 twas $3229 per square metre (sqm).
That's up 2.2% from $3159 per sqm in Q1 last year, and down 1.4% from $3276 per sqm in Q1 2024.
Average estimated residential build costs first went past the $3000 per sqm mark in Q1 2023 and have stayed above that level ever since.
There has been almost no change in the average size of the dwellings being consented in that period.
The average size of the dwellings consented in Q1 this year was 140sqm, little changed from 141sqm in both Q1 2025 and Q1 2024.
That meant total estimated build costs have also remained relatively flat over the last two years, with an average estimated build cost of $453,406 per dwelling in Q1 this year, compared to $446,310 in Q1 2025 and $462,654 in Q1 2024.
Apartments were the most expensive type of dwelling to be consented in Q1 with an average estimated build cost of $3453 per sqm, while townhouses and home units were the least expensive at $3158 per sqm.
Of the six largest urban regions, Otago had the most expensive average estimated build cost of $3875 per sqm in Q1 2026, followed by Bay of Plenty $3446, Wellington $3412, Auckland $3270, Waikato $3123 and Canterbury $2815.
The full set of national and regional data is available on the Residential Building Consent Analysis page.
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